Eton College claimed the U14 Boys Cup on Day 3 of the 2023 Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s after a wonderful day’s play across the U14 and U16 Boys competitions.

It was the only day of the tournament without any Girls rugby, though that will change on Thursday in a major way with the U18 Girls ACE and the biggest ever U18 Girls Cup competitions taking place, they will be running alongside the U18 Boys Cup, the U3 Boys Prep School, and the conclusion of the U16 Boys Cup competition that began on Wednesday.

All of Thursday’s rugby on Pitch RE2 will once again be live streamed on the NextGenXV YouTube channel, and can also be seen embedded below, with the action all beginning once more at 10am.

U14 Boys Cup

Eton College’s U14s went one better than last year’s U16s, who finished runner up in that competition, going all the way to win the tournament after a sensational Tuesday was backed up with a brilliant Wednesday.

They topped their 8^th Round Pool ahead of Prior Park College and Welsh side Rhydywaun to set up a quarter final against Tuesday’s U18 Boys Vase winners, Rugby School. Rugby gave it everything but Eton were in unstoppable mode, winning 28-17.

That sent them through to the semi finals where they would face Cheltenham College, who had beaten reigning champions Sedbergh 19-7 in their quarter final, while on the other side of the draw reigning U18 Boys Cup champions Wellington College had beaten Glantaf 10-5 to set up a semi final against Radley College, who had beaten last year’s runners up George Watson’s College 19-7.

In those semi finals Wellington College were in a real battle with Radley College, but came though 12-7, while once again Eton were simply unstoppable, winning 26-5 against Cheltenham.

The final was an absolute cracker, but in the end there was nothing that Wellington College could do to stop this outstanding Eton College group, who won a fantastic game of 7s 19-12 to claim the silverware and cap what has been a glorious year.

U14 Boys Plate

Over in the Plate Epsom College claimed the title, winning a tough 8^th Round Pool ahead of St Joseph’s College and Denstone College before entering into an incredibly tight knockout stage.

Taunton School ran them close, but Epsom came through by a mere two points, 19-17, and it was similar in the semi final where they had to dig incredibly deep to get past Bedford 20-17.

In the final they faced a Dame Allan’s side that had narrowly beat KCS Wimbledon in the quarter finals and got past Bishop’s Stortford High School 24-10 in the semis. There was nothing that Dame Allan’s could do about Epsom in the final though, the South West London saved the best for last for an absolutely fantastic 42-10 victory and the U14 Boys Plate title.

U16 Boys Cup

The U16 Boys competition was electric on Wednesday, setting up for an absolutely rip roaring Thursday that will see the champions crowned.

From over 200 entrants, there are now just 28 teams left in the competition, and it is going to be glorious on Thursday. The 28 are split into seven groups of four teams each, with the winning and the best runner up qualifying for the quarter final knockouts, and the remining runners up heading to the Plate semi final pools.

Group A sees Caterham, St George’s Weybridge, King’s College Taunton, and the reigning champions Harrow all grouped together. Back to back titles are very much on the horizon for Harrow with a strong showing on Thursday.

Group B meanwhile sees old rivals Dulwich College and Tonbridge go head to head alongside The Oratory and former winners St Peter’s York, while in Group C QEGS Wakefield, RGS High Wycombe, Woodhouse Grove, and a formidable looking Brighton College are all grouped together.

Group D contains two of the most successful sides in Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s history lining up against each other, Sedbergh and Wellington College, alongside Ellesmere College and Torquay Boys Grammar. Over in Group E lurks real strength, Trinity, Bromsgrove, an impressive Haileybury side, and The Leys.

Cup Group F meanwhile has a real South Eastern feel to it, with Whitgift, Churcher’s College, RGS Guildford, and Mill Hill all together, while over in Group G things could get very interesting as KES Bath and Bedford infiltrate Wednesday’s two champions from U14 level, Eton College and Epsom College.

It’s going to be a very special day of knockout U16 rugby on Thursday!

U18 Boys Cup

The U18 Boys Cup is the jewel in the crown of the Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s, and a sizeable crown it is too. Since 1939 this great tournament has existed, and every great schools rugby side has passed through this tournament over the years.

Fifty-five teams compete in the Cup, split into eleven groups of five teams each. Only the group winners and the single best runner up qualify for the next stage on Day 2, those 55 teams whittled quickly down to just 12. The remaining runners up head to the Plate semi final pools.

Wellington College are the reigning champions and have a fierce group, a common theme across all eleven groups, with Schools Cup semi finalists Finborough, the rapidly growing Harrogate Grammar and Mount Kelly, and ACE giants Gosforth Academy for company.

Group B sees former champions John Fisher up against legends Dulwich College, ACE side Oaklands College, dark horses Seaford College, and Spanish side Federacion Valenciana. Over in Group C are two Welsh giants, Newport High and Coleg Sir Gar, West London legends St Benedict’s, and two great Bristol rivals – the great Clifton College, one of the very best in the country, and ACE side SGS Filton College.

Group D sees former champions Whitgift up against two great school sides in Bedford and Berkhamsted, along with two ACE beasts in Bishop Burton College and Stourport High. Schools Cup runners up Trinity are in Group E, and would love to do well here, they have two sides that will be at the Sedbergh 10s later this week (live on NextGenXV) alongside them in Hurstpierpoint College and Ipswich, who have a real chance as well. Woodhouse Grove are former finalists and will compete hard too, so too the unknown quantity that is Sweden Boys.

Cranleigh are legends and former champions at this tournament, but they will have to be at their best to get past the superb Kirkham Grammar, while ACE side Gordon’s, along with Canford and Wales’ Olchfa, will make this seriously competitive too. In Group G Harrow would love to go all the way here and conditions could well suit the Daily Mail Trophy champions, they have St Joseph’s College, and a Judd side that should never be written off, alongside them as well as Wales’ Coleg Gwent and ACE side Myerscough College.

Group H is very tasty, Barnard Castle and Hampton would both love to head to Sedbergh with this title and have a good chance, but them must get past ACE finalists Beechen Cliff and U18 Schools Vase winners Samuel Whitbread Academy to get there, not to mention the outstanding Worthing College.

If there is such a thing as a group of death the Group I is surely it. Brighton College are a great 7s school and have silverware behind them already this year, but up against them are four ACE giants, Brooksby Melton College, Exeter College, Bishop Wand, and the legends that are Hartpury College, brutal does not even cover it.

In Group J lie the giants that are Sedbergh, and they will surely fancy their chances after a brilliant display at the recent North of England Schools 7s. Alongside them are ACE team City of Oxford College, along with Norwich and Richard Huish, and Welsh giants Llandovery College, whose games against Sedbergh are the stuff of legend.

Group K hosts another of the giants of this tournament, indeed this tournament’s most successful side, Millfield, who reached last year’s Cup final against Wellington College. Alongside them are a pair of Welsh greats, Coleg Llandrillo and Coleg y Cymoedd, and there are two English beats alongside too, Henley College and Denstone College, another absolutely brutal group.

U18 Girls Cup

The U18 Girls Cup steps up in scale enormously this year, mirroring the U18 Boys Cup and likely providing one of the most intense and high quality showcases of Girls Schools Rugby ever seen on these shores.

Fifty-five teams will be in action in total, split into 11 Groups of five teams each, with the Group winners and the very best runner up heading to the Cup Quarter Final Pools, the remaining runners up head to the Plate semi final pools. It will be intense, it will be tough, and it will be incredibly strong teams that qualify.

English schools Clifton College, Pangbourne College, Wellington School, and Hereford 6^th form College are joined in Group A by Dubai College, while in Group B Belgian side Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege join Samuel Whitbread academy, St John’s Leatherhead, King’s Canterbury, and Tiffin.

Millfield loiter in Group C alongside fellow English schools Reigate Grammar, Hills Road, Bablake & King Henry, with Welsh side Coleg Sir Benfro looking to disrupt things. There’s another Welsh side in Group D, the ever-strong Glantaf, who compete against Collegiate, Hurstpierpoint College, Richard Collyer, and Weston College.

Group E is a four team group, Duabi star JESS joining Oundle, Taunton, and Trinity, while in Group F Sir William Borlase’s, RGS Worcester, King’s Taunton, Cardinal Newman, and Callywith are all grouped togheter. Group G is also a four team group, with Rugby, Sir Joseph Williamson’s, Worth, and Plasmawr together.

Group H sees Oakham, Gordon’s, and Richard Huish, all joined by Hartpury College and Peter Symonds’ College. Group I is another of those four team groups, with Coleg y Cymoedd, Moulton College, Sevenoaks, and Wellington College all together. Group J likewise has Bishop Wordsworth’s, Epsom College, Llandovery College, and The Judd all take each other on. Group K is the final group, Blundell’s, Bridgwater & Taunton, Coleg Gwent, Sedbergh, and Simon Langton Grammar are all competing.

It promises to be the very best U18 Girls Cup competition that this great tournament has ever seen.

U18 Girls ACE

The Girls ACE competition is going to be short, sharp, and very very intense. Ten teams compete, split into five groups of five teams each, with the winners of each group meeting in the U18 Girls ACE final.

The quality of the teams is utterly astonishing too, reigning champions Hartpury College are in Group A and they are going to have to be every bit as good as last year if they are to repeat their success, with City of Oxford college, SGS Filton College, Henley College, and Worthing College alongside them.

Over in Group B are last year’s U18 Girls Cup winners, Oaklands College, who would love to lift this one to follow up last year’s triumph. Their task is no easier than Hartpury’s though, with Bishop Burton College, Brooksby Melton College, Exeter College, and Loughborough College joining them.

It should be an epic competition!

U13 Boys Prep

The U13 Boys Prep Schools competition takes place on Thursday at the Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s, usually on Friday, it moves this year to a Thursday slot but will, as ever, run alongside the flagship U18 Cup competitions allowing these young players the chance to share the field with those at the very top of the school game.

It is one of the most inspirational days of the week at the Rosslyn Park National School 7s, seeing these young players have the opportunity to see what lies ahead and to be able to say that they played on the same field as some of the greats.

Sixty teams are competing in total, split across ten groups of six teams each. It will only be a group stage as, in line with RFU guidelines, the will be no champions in this younger age group and everyone will play the same number of games.

The group stages will be intense though, five games for every team and across the board and with such quality across each group the games are going to be a spectacle for all and a great addition to the Thursday roster.

Day 3 Results and Day 4 Groups Below (U14 Boys, U16 Boys, U18 Boys, U18 Girls, U18 Girls ACE, and U13 Boys Prep)

U14 Boys Cup

Champions – Eton College

Final

Eton College 19-12 Wellington College

Semi Finals

Cheltenham College 5-26 Eton College

Wellington College 12-7 Radley College

Quarter Finals

Sedbergh 7-19 Cheltenham College

Rugby 17-28 Eton College

Glantaf 5-10 Wellington College

Radley College 19-7 George Watson’s College

Cup 8^th Round Pools

U14 Boys Plate

Champions – Epsom College

Final

Epsom College 42-10 Dame Allan’s

Semi Finals

Bishop’s Stortford High 10-24 Dame Allan’s

Epsom College 20-17 Bedford

Quarter Finals

Northampton School for Boys 17-19 Bishop’s Stortford High

Dame Allan’s 14-12 KCS Wimbledon

Taunton 17-19 Epsom College

Bedford 29-5 RGS Newcastle

Plate 8^th Round Pools

U16 Boys Cup

(Top & best 2 runners up to elimination round; winners to Cup 8^th Round Pools, from there winners and best RU to Cup QF, remaining RUs to Plate SF pools)

Cup 8^th Round Pools

Elimination Round:

Harrow 40-7 Waterloo Schools

Caterham 12-5 Marlborough College

St George’s Weybridge 19-12 Haberdashers’ Elstree

King’s College, Taunton 24-7 St Joseph’s College

St Peter’s, York 12-10 Dubai College

Dollar Academy 0-31 Dulwich College

The Oratory 14-7 Clifton College

Garth Olwg 12-49 Tonbridge

Seaford College 7-22 Brighton College

Skinners’ 10-24 QEGS Wakefield

RGS High Wycombe 12-5 Dean Close

Woodhouse Grove 12-5 Stowe

Wellington College 31-5 Durham

Torquay Boys 50-0 Westbourne

Holyrood Academy 0-54 Sedbergh

Y Pant 22-28 Ellesmere College

Trinity 10-5 Jumeirah

The Leys 36-5 Worth

Haileybury 26-12 Plymouth College

Bromsgrove 52-0 Rugby

Framlingham College 12-19 Whitgift

Whitchurch High 31-38 RGS Guildford

Hampton 12-22 Mill Hill

Churcher’s College 24-17 Blundell’s

Berkhamsted 26-31 Bedford

King’s Worcester 21-36 Epsom College

Haverfordwest 5-34 KES Bath

Exeter School 19-31 Eton College

Final Group Standings:

U18 Boys Cup

Group Draws (Group Winners and Best Runner Up to Cup Quarter Final Pools, remaining Runners up to Plate Semi Final Pools):

U18 Girls Cup

Group Draws (Group Winners and Best Runner Up to Cup Quarter Final Pools, remaining Runners up to Plate Semi Final Pools):

U18 Girls ACE

Group Draw (Group Winners to Final):

U13 Boys Prep

Group Draw: